Stars in the night sky above Hong Kong Island are searched in vain. Instead, the city is enveloped in a pink-orange haze that downright suppresses the darkness of the night. Hong Kongs urban night sky is 100 to 1000 times brighter than the international brightness standard between 8.30 and 11:00pm, according to the Hong Kong Night Sky Brightness Monitoring Network. Hong Kong isn‘t called the Pearl of the Orient for nothing.
Hong Kong‘s night sky has been proven to be one of the brightest in the world and this is not without consequences. Light pollution has an impact not only on flora and fauna, but also on Hong Kong residents, especially on their sleep quality and well-being. Artificial light in the evening hours influences our internal clock, which in turn regulates organic processes such as hormone production and cell regulation. A disturbance of the day-night rhythm is associated with various physiological and psychological disorders, including depression, insomnia and cardiovascular diseases.
This is a selection of some photos & texts from my photo story "Insomnia".
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„First I thought that the bright lights in Hong Kong don‘t affect me at all. I usually sleep with my curtains closed, but when I fell asleep with them open the other day – I realized I wasn’t as immune as I thought. In the middle of the night my neighbor turned on his lights eventually waking me up. “
“One of the main reasons for outdoor lighting to begin with was to prevent criminals from committing a crime. Now that cities like Hong Kong have an extremely low crime rate, the illumination of every single corner is no longer appropriate. “
“Personally I think not many people are aware of the harm of light smog. People who don‘t live in that area will find neon lights beautiful and will identify the countless brightly light signs above street as unique feature of Hong Kong. The government only cares about the safety aspects, like that the signs are set up solidly so they won‘t fall down and harm passersby, but they seem not very caring if the lights will affect the sleeping quality of its residents.”
”At the end of the day- being exposed to a lot of artificial light, I tend to get headaches and my eyes feel very dry and tired.”
“It seems to me that people in Hong Kong love colorful neon lights. Shops, cafes, large signs flood Hong Kong‘s streets. The exposures are as bright as if it were daylight. Even the sky is never really dark at night. As a result, many people suffer from sleep problems. (...)"
